Aleksandra Giza

Aleksandra Giza serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Design and Media Arts within the School of Art and Design at Northern Illinois University. Her comprehensive teaching portfolio spans foundational to graduate-level visual communication courses including typography, color theory, exhibit design, and advanced studio practice, preparing students for professional design careers through both theoretical frameworks and hands-on studio experience.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in Design from Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Graphic Department in Katowice, Poland
• Post Graduate Study at Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht, Netherlands
• M.F.A. from Academy of Fine Arts, Graphic Department in Katowice, Poland
• Studies at Silesian University, Department of Visual Arts Education in Cieszyn, Poland

Professor Giza's research centers on visual communication with distinctive specialization in expressive typography, treating letterforms as creative material rather than mere communication tools. Her work bridges poetry and visual design (notably through explorations with Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska's poetry) while critically examining contemporary design practice through publications analyzing figures like Chip Kidd. This scholarly trajectory demonstrates sustained investigation into typography's material possibilities and ethical dimensions of visual identity systems.

Her publication history from 2001-2017 reveals consistent contributions across three interconnected domains: experimental typography research culminating in the 2017 co-authored book 'Tworzywo – Litera'; critical design journalism in Polish Design Quarterly addressing branding ethics and design theory; and historical documentation of Polish design communities. These works collectively establish her position at the intersection of Central European design heritage and global visual communication discourse, with recurring emphasis on typography's creative potential beyond functional communication.

While specific awards aren't documented, her international exhibition record demonstrates significant peer recognition:

• Golden Bee: Moscow International Biennial of Graphic Design (2010)
• International Poster Festival PlakatFest, Chorzow, Poland (2018)
• 17th International Warsaw Poster Biennale (2002)
• 49th Annual UCDA Design Competition, Portland (2019)

Professor Giza mentors students through structured progression from introductory courses to advanced independent research (ARTD 490/ART 690) and senior projects (ARTD 406), emphasizing professional development via field experiences (ARTD 420) and exhibition opportunities. Her studio-based pedagogy integrates critical analysis of design practice with hands-on typographic experimentation, preparing students for both commercial and artistic design applications while maintaining strong connections to international design communities through her own exhibition participation.

Though no formal research lab is documented, her creative practice operates through the university's studio infrastructure where students engage with her distinctive approach to visual communication, particularly through typography-focused projects that explore letterforms as sculptural and conceptual elements.